The Lodge, Cloudcroft, NM
cat...@visi.com
This is a true story.
I have a good Irish love for ghost stories, always have always
will I suppose.
Anyway while out exploring the countryside in New Mexico
(something I love to do anywhere, got a travel bug too... ) with a
buddy I was driving by this beautiful building I later found out was
"The Lodge" (an old Hotel/Resort in Cloudcroft) This is a very old
light gray building in great condition, with a grand tower rising up
in the middle of the building. Besides a resort, it also offers a fine
resturaunt and two small bars, one in the lower level and one on the
first floor. There is a massive fireplace in the lobby, wooden
winding staircases and inlaid tile floors... Very plush, old, and
haunted.
I felt the familiar pressure of a haunted place. - Yes I feel
these things, everybody does they just don't know how it feels yet -
I told my friend we have a haunted building in our midst, however I
couldn't go in because we had to get back to the base in El Paso.
When I got home I looked in a few books and sure enough found
the Lodge in the "Ghostly Registry" or some such book. I read what was
said of the place, supposed to be haunted by a red-headed ghost named
Rebeca. Rebeca seems to like calling the Presidential Suite on the
phone. The Lodge has an old switchboard that has to be manually
connected, so, when this happens, and a guest calls to complain, the
front desk knows what is going on, Rebeca strikes again.
Okay.. so what, a very mundane ghost indeed.
Not quite.
I went back a week later, dragging my friend, and we went down
to the bar in the lower level called the Red Dog Saloon. I started
talking to the Bartender about the haunting and told her I had read
about it in the Ghostly Registry, but, would like to have a tour of
the place to see what I could feel. She was very kind and called the
assistant manager. I explained what I wanted to her and she took me on
a tour. Of course we went to the suite first, but I felt nothing..
nothing except for the general haunting feeling in the Hotel. When I
told her this the manager smiled a little smile, asked if I was a
psychic, I said no but I can feels things. I then requested if I could
go up to the tower alone.She said it would be okay.
Once up in the tower I could feel the "emination" coming from
the back right corner of the building. I went back down to the waiting
manager, asked her if we could go back to the lower level toward the
saloon. Once down there I noticed a door off to the right at the
bottom of the staircase. I should tell you now that the Saloon doors
are straight in front of the staircase landing, bathrooms off to the
left and this door off to the right. We went throught the door. The
manager explained this was a service hallway for the bioler room,
laundry, and caretakers quarters. I really didn't hear her clearly
because I knew that I was close. I could feel this ghost coming from a
door in this hall. I asked the mananger to open door to the boiler
room. Once inside I could feel I was in the wrong room, but the right
one was right next door. Both rooms shared a wall and I could feel the
prescence coming from the other room, in the back corner of the shared
wall. When I told the manager this her beautiful spanish complexion
turned white. The blood absolutly drained from her face. In a small
voice she asked if I would wait in the room for a minute. I could. She
left me in the boiler room and came back with the bartender, told me
to explain myself, and my request to her and the bartender again. I
did. I wanted to go to the next room, to the back left corner and
"feel" why I thought this haunting has its origins there. The
bartender crossed herself and they both led me to the next room. It
turned out to be the laundry. In it were a couple of washing machines
and dryers plus a big laundry sink in the back left corner with an
electricians box above it. I said that was where I feel it coming
from, as stupid as it sounded, I knew it was by the sinks. The manager
had me walk back there. I did. She had me open up the electricians
box. I did. I found it was not a real box, but, a window into a
bricked up stairwell. The servants stairs. The very stairs that a
young lady was coming down from the Presidential suite one night long
ago and fell to her death at the bottom. Rebecca.
For anyone who goes there and asks to see the bricked up
stairwell I can not say the Lodge will be so accomdating as with me.
For two main reasons.
1. The "Ghostly Registry" doesn't give the whole story, the Lodge
didn't release it. I don't know why. In 1989 when I did this the Lodge
had had 7 or 8 psychics already walk through..None of them fould the
stairway.
2. Coming back from the laundry room with the manager and bartender I
had my last "encounter" with Rebecca. All the toilets Men's Room were
overflowing. Every one, unrinals and regular commodes, were
overflowing in a constant flush, the water streaming out onto the
beautiful tile floors. Rebecca it seems was not to thrilled with my
discovery and was voicing her opinion of me without her telephone.
I do recommend you try though, and post what you find or encounter.
It's called The Lodge and is a small mountain town called Cloudcroft,
just east of Alamagordo, south of Riadoso. The assistant managers name
, I think, was Marty Martinez. The bartender was a blonde woman with
straight hair, I don't remeber her name.
Your replies are welcome. Sorry for the typos and bad grammar.
Catspaw
Stephanie Reeves
Hi,
I had to respond to this one as I have stayed overnight in one of the
cabin annexes that the Lodge offers guests. You are right about the
beauty of this place. I was on a business trip to White Sands and we
stayed there because the mountains are cooler and prettier than the
desert below. Anyway, I sure didn't see anything, but had the creeps
about the place for some reason. Maybe I had read about Rebecca - the
story of a red-haired ghost is familiar. The hotel's restaurant is, in
fact, called Rebecca's, or at least it was when I was there in 1993. The
food was fabulous!!! Anyway, if anyone gets the opportunity to stay
there, do it! and tell us about anything that happens.
Stephanie
cat...@visi.com
On 4 Mar 1997 03:22:14 GMT, PNM...@prodigy.com (Stephanie Reeves)
wrote:
Stephanie,
Your right! The restaurant is called Rebecca's, as a matter of
fact there is a stained glass window above the main entrance with a
red-haired lady. Rebecca? They weren't about to say yes or no to that
one :-) What about that fireplace? Wow.
Catspaw